In hiring a firm to search for a new county manager, Gaston commissioners are placing heavy emphasis on cost and familiarity with the state.

Based on those factors, they have asked The Mercer Group of Atlanta to make a formal presentation during their next meeting Tuesday. The company is one of six that submitted proposals to county commissioners in the last two weeks.

Gaston County Commission Chairman Mickey Price said they will “probably” vote to hire The Mercer Group during the meeting. But they first want to hear directly from its representatives about how they plan to conduct the search.

“Their price is reasonable,” said Price. “And they have a (price) cap.”

Four weeks have passed since former Gaston County Manager Jan Winters was forced to resign, in a vote that put his elected bosses at odds with one another.

Price directed Interim County Manager Phil Ponder to solicit corporate profiles, proposals and cost estimates from several search firms earlier this month. Each commissioner independently reviewed what was submitted.

The Mercer Group received the most support to come and offer a formal presentation next week, Price said.

The firm has helped a number of North Carolina cities and counties to fill vacant manager positions in recent years, while doing the same in other communities across the country. Price said the familiarity with this state struck a chord with him.

“I think they’d have a better understanding of what things are like in North Carolina,” he said. “And since they’ve dealt with so many cities and counties here, they might have a little edge on what type of person we’re looking for. They’ve probably got a bank of (applicant) names.”

The cost estimate is also favorable, Price said. Another candidate firm, Coleman Lew and Associates of Charlotte, said it would charge 30 percent of the new county manager’s first-year compensation, which would have translated into a $51,000 tab, based on Winters’ former salary.

The Mercer Group’s fee for finding a new county manager is $16,500, plus out-of-pocket expenses not to exceed $8,000. The latter costs take into account things such as consultant travel, lodging, advertising and similar things, according to the proposal from company President James Mercer.

Gaston County would receive a $1,500 discount on that, Mercer wrote. The costs for “finalist” candidates to travel here for interviews are not included in the proposal, he said.

“These costs are extremely difficult to estimate because they depend on where the candidates are located,” said Mercer. “Typically, out-of-state costs run about $750 to $1,000 per person.”

Price said the last time the county hired a search firm to assist in hiring a county manager in 2002, it cost about $15,000.

Price said the county will likely not reveal the names of applicants who are being considered until they begin coming here for in-person interviews as finalists.

“Sometimes they’re reluctant to let their names get out, especially if they’re currently working,” he said.

If The Mercer Group is hired Tuesday, he said commissioners would probably hope to get an initial list of candidate names within a month.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.